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National Geographic : 1904 May
Contents
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE "'Whereasit is asserted that the most valu able food-fishes of the coast and the lakes of the United States are rapidly diminishing in number, to the public injury, and so as mate rially to affect the interests of trade and com merce : Therefore, "Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of Amer ica in Congress assembled, That the President be, and he hereby is, authorized and required to appoint, by and with the advice and con sent of the Senate, from among the civil offi cers or employs of the government, one per son of proved scientific and practical acquaint ance with the fishes of the coast, to be Com missioner of Fish and Fisheries, to serve with out additional salary. "SEc. 2. And be it further resolved, That it shall be the duty of said Commissioner to pros ecute investigations and inquiries on the sub ject, with the view of ascertaining whether any and what diminution in the number of the food-fishes of the coast and the lakes of the United States has taken place; and, if so, to what causes the same is due; and also whether any and what protective, prohibitory, or pre cautionary measures should be adopted in the premises; and to report upon the same to Congress." This bill became a law February 9, 1871, and President Grant appointed as Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries Professor Spencer F. Baird, then Assist ant Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti tution. The new position carried no salary, but Professor Baird was willing to perform the duties of the new office, in addition to those of Assistant Secre tary of the Smithsonian Institution, without additional salary. Early in June, 1871, Professor Baird established his headquarters at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, this being in the region where the alleged decrease was most clearly manifested, and entered upon the investigations for which the Commission had been created. The contradictory opinions developed by the state inquiries regarding the habits of our best known food-fishes showed at once that the fishermen could not be depended upon for accurate ob servations or expression of unbiased opinion. It was necessary therefore that the habits or life-histories of the impor- tant food-fishes should receive thorough study before satisfactory conclusions could be reached. With the able assist ance of Dr Theodore Gill, a definite and comprehensive plan of inquiry was for mulated. Professor Baird's training as a naturalist, as well as his tastes, gave him faith in the exact methods of science in the investigation of all economic ques tions ; and it was the scientific method which characterized the very first in quiries undertaken by the Commission. The methods to be pursued were those of science, and the Fish Commission therefore began its career as a scientific bureau. It soon became evident that the fish eries had greatly decreased in value, and that destructive methods-over fishing, the building of dams and other obstructions in coastwise streams, and the pollution of their waters by refuse from sawmills and other manufacto ries-were among the most potent causes which had led to the decrease. The only adequate solution of the problem seemed to be the establishment of proper fishery regulations based upon accurate knowledge of the habits of the fishes, and the development of methods of artificial propagation as applied to those species in danger of most serious depletion. The initial efforts of the Commission were therefore directed, first, toward securing accurate knowl edge of the habits, abundance, and dis tribution of the more important species of food-fishes, and, second, the devel opment of methods by means of which these species might be propagated arti ficially. This Bureau was established as the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, and the chief of the Bureau was known as the United States Com missioner of Fish and Fisheries. The Commission remained as an unattached bureau, not being placed in any Cabinet department, until the establishment of the Department of Commerce and Labor. I92
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